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IPTV is coming…
More companies join the push to deploy Interactive Personalised TV – new specifications imminent
Efforts to accelerate the deployment of IPTV by combining the expertise of key telecom operators, consumer electronics manufacturers and network infrastructure providers in the Open IPTV Forum are gathering further momentum, and the first release of the specifications that will allow IPTV to develop into a mass market service is close to completion.
At its meeting at the headquarters of Telefónica in Madrid from 10-13 June, the Open IPTV Forum, the pan-industry initiative that was established to produce the end-to-end solution specification which will open up access to the interactive and personalised services offered by IPTV, significantly expanded its membership. These companies join the founding members – Ericsson, FT Group, Nokia Siemens Networks, Panasonic, Philips, Samsung, Sony and Telecom Italia – and many other major IPTV industry players from the communications and entertainment industries (www.openiptvforum.org/members.html), bringing to 37 the number of companies which are working together in the Forum.
Since April this year, 11 new members have been accepted:
Access Company
BeeTVFastWebDigital FountainIntel InterTrust Technology CorporationMotorolaOpera SoftwareThomsonSwisscom
ZyXEL
Yun Chao Hu, Chairman of the Forum, commented:
“These new members represent a wide range of interest and broaden the input to the Forum’s activities both technically and geographically; they reinforce the Forum’s presence in the USA, with four new member companies (Digital Fountain, Intel, InterTrust Technology Corporation and Motorola) and establish the Forum's presence in Taiwan” (ZyXel).
“Work on the new specifications is progressing fast. The Forum has already produced the first version of a Service and Platform Requirements document and the first architecture specification. We are now working round the clock to meet our target of publishing Release 1 in September this year. Release 1 will solve the problem of fragmentation within the market by standardising an IPTV framework, enabling a ‘plug and play’ experience for the end-user and, by ensuring interoperability, will make IPTV independent of the technology behind it.”
Over the coming months, the Forum will be exhibiting at some of the world’s largest consumer entertainment industry events:
- IPTV World Forum North America – Chicago, US, 22-23 July
- IFA, the world's largest consumer electronics trade fair – Berlin, Germany, 29 August - 3 September
- MPEG Industry Forum – Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 11 September
- IBC, the major international event for all involved in the creation, management and delivery of content for the entertainment industry – Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 12-16 September.
Members of the Forum will be speaking at these events, and will be delighted to meet potential new members to discuss the work of the Forum and the future of IPTV. Interviews with the press can also be arranged.
For further information about this news release, please contact:
Claire d’Esclercs, Secretary of the Open IPTV Forum,
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1st July 2008
NOTES FOR EDITORS
IPTV (Internet Protocol Television or Interactive Personalised Television) is a system where a digital television service is delivered using Internet Protocol over a network infrastructure, which may include delivery by a broadband connection. A general definition of IPTV is television content that, instead of being delivered through traditional broadcast and cable formats, is received by the viewer through the technologies used for computer networks. With IPTV, the television screen becomes a means of communication, allowing the viewer to interact with the service. It will have numerous applications, for example, in video on demand, shopping, for special needs, quiz shows, voting in television shows etc.
The Open IPTV Forum is fully open to participants from across the communications and entertainment industries, and brings together network operators, content providers, service providers, consumer electronics manufacturers and home and network infrastructure providers. The members of the Open IPTV Forum are working together on the development of open standards because they recognise that combining the expertise of all involved will help to streamline and accelerate deployments of IPTV technologies. Their aim is to take the next generation of IPTV into a mass market service and maximise the benefits of IPTV for consumers as well as the industry.
For further information about the Forum: visit www.openiptvforum.org
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